If someone suffers a burn at their workplace or at home, for example, the conventional advice is to cool the affected area by holding it under running water or similar for the requisite time (e.g. 15 to 30 minutes). If no running water is available nearby, it is desirable to cool the affected area by applying, for example, a poultice containing a cooling agent (e.g. as described in Patent Reference 1). Particularly if the burn is severe, advice and treatment need then to be sought at a medical institution without delay. Treatment appropriate to the depth of the burn can then be provided by the medical institution.
In the case of severe burns, there are times when simply cooling the affected area will not necessarily be sufficient as emergency treatment to be given at the stage before medical advice can be sought at a medical institution.
That is to say, an inflammatory reaction may be elicited by a range of mediators such as inflammatory cytokines produced and released locally or systemically when a victim suffers burns, and this may develop into a condition known as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). One cause of SIRS is thought to be the release of cytokines from immunological cells against proteins denatured as a result of the burn.
If the victim goes into SIRS, the symptoms may progress rapidly, leading to septicemia or shock and even death in some cases. In the case of severe burns, it is extremely important to take emergency action to suppress SIRS the same time as applying cooling.
The present invention was devised in the light of these circumstances and provides a topical preventative medicament against burns-related systemic inflammatory response syndrome capable of suppressing burns-related SIRS by being applied directly to the affected area when someone has suffered a burn.